I can't decide on a Dominator to play

[Mezmera]

9 hours ago, MoonSheep said:

 

However, Total Focus takes a whopping 2.52 seconds to activate, which when done the team has moved onto the next mission. Blaze takes only 1.00 seconds, combined with Blazing Bolt on quicksnipe and Fire Blast means Fiery Assault is leaps and bounds ahead of Energy Assault

 

Fiery Embrace also gives +85% damage for 30 seconds, vs Power Up providing a tiny 35% for 10 seconds

Some people enjoy playing the higher-impact, slower pace sets like Energy, Radiation Assault, however if you’re wanting raw damage output and pace, Fire is the way to go. Having everything as range is also a huge plus.

 

Also fiery assault doesn’t lock you into any of the mastery powers, you can still choose any of them (with Ice being pretty much the only sensible choice for teamplay)

Since they share the snipe and its about as good as they get for ST damage lets use that as the bar.  Both snipes act the same and do the same extreme damage.  Then there's Power Burst which hits much harder than Blaze for just .33 more animation.  Finally there's Total Focus that has been sped up from its original form and still hits for an extreme amount of damage which by the way sets you up for the Energy Release mechanic.  Energy has 3 sequential extreme damaging attacks, Fire has one and one superior damage attack.  On top of that Fire has nothing to compare with an Energy Released Whirling Hands.  The damage and versatility of attacks in the Energy arsenal is far better than anything you can get out of Fire.  

 

Fire doesn't necessarily automatically lock you into the Fire APP but you're shorting your overall damage missing out on Fiery Embraced Fire Balls.  Then yes you can go with the Ice APP but that debuff scales lower the higher the enemy is to you.  Whereas something like Soul Drain that gets you 100% damage and 35% tohitt for 30 seconds every minute and also by the way does real nice aoe damage on activation.  

 

Like I was saying the side effects of Power Build Up has more benefit than you realize over just a straight damage boost.  Energy's attacks already come with an inherently more damaging boost or with the new mechanic.  It can make better use of the side effect boost that can cap your defenses and lock down enemies much longer leading to much better sustained damage over time along with their already insane burst damage.  

 

There's nothing slow about Energy and with the benefits you can get from this set you can snuggle up nice and close to enemies and not worry an ounce about having to flee for your life.  Fire had it's day, now's the time of Energy.

[MoonSheep]

19 minutes ago, Mezmera said:

Since they share the snipe and its about as good as they get for ST damage lets use that as the bar.  Both snipes act the same and do the same extreme damage.  Then there's Power Burst which hits much harder than Blaze for just .33 more animation.  Finally there's Total Focus that has been sped up from its original form and still hits for an extreme amount of damage which by the way sets you up for the Energy Release mechanic.  Energy has 3 sequential extreme damaging attacks, Fire has one and one superior damage attack.  On top of that Fire has nothing to compare with an Energy Released Whirling Hands.  The damage and versatility of attacks in the Energy arsenal is far better than anything you can get out of Fire.  

 

Fire doesn't necessarily automatically lock you into the Fire APP but you're shorting your overall damage missing out on Fiery Embraced Fire Balls.  Then yes you can go with the Ice APP but that debuff scales lower the higher the enemy is to you.  Whereas something like Soul Drain that gets you 100% damage and 35% tohitt for 30 seconds every minute and also by the way does real nice aoe damage on activation.  

 

Like I was saying the side effects of Power Build Up has more benefit than you realize over just a straight damage boost.  Energy's attacks already come with an inherently more damaging boost or with the new mechanic.  It can make better use of the side effect boost that can cap your defenses and lock down enemies much longer leading to much better sustained damage over time along with their already insane burst damage.  

 

There's nothing slow about Energy and with the benefits you can get from this set you can snuggle up nice and close to enemies and not worry an ounce about having to flee for your life.  Fire had it's day, now's the time of Energy.

The power damage decriptions are not always totally accurate. Blaze which describes as "High" damage is more powerful (152.42) than Power Burst (139.89)

 

You may "feel" you so more damage with energy as it has amazing FX/animations/sounds, but in reality, it puts out less damage than Fiery Assault due to its much slower animations, lack of fiery embrace and lower damage figures. Earth Assault has the same vibe (though Seismic Smash is truly amazing on both a damage and animation standpoint)

 

You can right click the powers ingame to view the numbers, the character creation also shows the damage outputs of each power

 

Also Soul Drain can only give you 68% +damage, not 100%

 

Edited September 11, 2020 by MoonSheep

[Coyote]

I've done damage calculations for anti-AV attack cycles, and Fire does more damage than Energy. But not by much, actually... and Energy has better mezzing and the ability to use Force Feedback procs. It's not fair to say "Fire has nothing to match Whirling Hands with Energy Release" because in order to get Energy Release you need another power to hit first... so it's really a case of TF -> WH versus two AoEs for Fire. The real advantage isn't in damage numbers as much as in the fact that TF and WH are both melee-range so you don't have to bunny-hop from cone to PBAoE. So I consider Energy > Fire for AoE, but not greatly so.

 

Overall, IMO, Energy is a LOT better than Fire, with weaker but comparable single-target, better but comparable AoE, and incomparably better "extra" advantages (mezzing and FF procs, versus Fire doing its single-target damage at range).

[Mezmera]

28 minutes ago, MoonSheep said:

The power damage decriptions are not always totally accurate. Blaze which describes as "High" damage is more powerful (152.42) than Power Burst (139.89)

 

You may "feel" you so more damage with energy as it has amazing FX/animations/sounds, but in reality, it puts out less damage than Fiery Assault due to its much slower animations, lack of fiery embrace and lower damage figures. Earth Assault has the same vibe (though Seismic Smash is truly amazing on both a damage and animation standpoint)

 

You can right click the powers ingame to view the numbers, the character creation also shows the damage outputs of each power

 

Interesting perspective on Soul Drain though, will look into that. Am a big Sleet fan

 

I mean it's not like I don't have a fire blaster and can't already see the numbers to see how they perform first hand.  My Energy dom's Power Burst hits as hard as a blaster's Blaze using their buffs and all.  Then there's the Energy Release mechanic that works on Power Burst to put it over the top.  Energy Release nets you 2/3 more damage to Power Burst and doubles the damage output on Whirling Hands.  

 

There's just one slightly slower animation in Energy comparably and it makes up for that with an extreme amount of damage and powers the rest of your attacks.  I'm not sure where you're getting your theories but there's no Fire dom that's outdamaging my Energy dom.  I'd set aside being a Fire homer and give Energy a true play because you seem unknowing about how it performs.  

 

Soul Drain's buff nets you those numbers no matter if the baddies are the same level as you or 4 levels above.  It also does 190ish damage to a group of +4 baddies not to mention the purple damage proc fires very often.  Sleet's percentages lower drastically from level 50 to 54 targets.  Sleet is a waste on random mobs since they get chewed up quick anyways so you're really only wanting it for AV fights.  You can take Weaken Resolve slot an Achille's Heel and debuff the target for the same effect.  

Edited September 11, 2020 by Mezmera

[Toxis]

7 minutes ago, MoonSheep said:

The power damage decriptions are not always totally accurate. Blaze which describes as "High" damage is more powerful (152.42) than Power Burst (139.89)

 

You may "feel" you so more damage with energy as it has amazing FX/animations/sounds, but in reality, it puts out less damage than Fiery Assault due to its much slower animations, lack of fiery embrace and lower damage figures. Earth Assault has the same vibe (though Seismic Smash is truly amazing on both a damage and animation standpoint)

 

You can right click the powers ingame to view the numbers, the character creation also shows the damage outputs of each power

 

Also Soul Drain can only give you 68% +damage, not 100%

 

4 minutes ago, Mezmera said:

There's just one slightly slower animation in Energy comparably and it makes up for that with an extreme amount of damage and powers the rest of your attacks.  

Don't forget Burst.

 

Blaze (1s) > Power Burst (1.67). For the same damage this is a big difference in cast time. 

 

Adding 66% damage for +67% cast time seems great, however I find that Total Focus only proc's Energy Stored every other time it hits (in the same combat) and usually is best put to use in Whirling Hands.

 

Soul Drain gives me a 102% damage bonus with I believe max targets. I like using the chance to KD proc in it, gives me time to wind up my attacks after with them still grouped up!

 

Sleet is still awesome! Even at 54, you still get -19.5% res which your whole team gets to take advantage of. I personally love it on my Ice dom. 

 

 

[Mezmera]

1 minute ago, Toxis said:

Don't forget Burst.

 

Blaze (1s) > Power Burst (1.67). For the same damage this is a big difference in cast time. 

 

Adding 66% damage for +67% cast time seems great, however I find that Total Focus only proc's Energy Stored every other time it hits (in the same combat) and usually is best put to use in Whirling Hands.

 

Soul Drain gives me a 102% damage bonus with I believe max targets. I like using the chance to KD proc in it, gives me time to wind up my attacks after with them still grouped up!

 

Sleet is still awesome! Even at 54, you still get -19.5% res which your whole team gets to take advantage of. I personally love it on my Ice dom. 

 

 

If you hadn't noticed on your status bar the Total Focus icon appears once you use TF to build the Energy Release.  It signifies you built it that way and it locks you out from building Energy Release with TF for 10s until it disappears from your bar.  

 

That's the great thing about the Energy Release it powers your AoE damage greatly but can also power your ST damage when you need that versatility.  

 

With Energy Release affecting Burst for say single target AV fights it sets the damage quite above Blaze.  I'm not saying that it doesn't even out over the time of the fight nor that Blaze isn't a great attack but Burst to me is better overall both in burst outputs and sustained fights.    

 

Fire doesn't have that third attack that can match everything TF nets you nor does it have the AoE potential.  

 

Sleet isn't a bad power per se but you can go with the Soul Mastery pool and also have a Weaken Resolve which'll net you -7% resist then add an achilles that'll fire 90% of the time for -20% resist.  So you're getting -27% resist on the target then you can chew away with your damage chain.  

[Toxis]

1 hour ago, Mezmera said:

If you hadn't noticed on your status bar the Total Focus icon appears once you use TF to build the Energy Release.  It signifies you built it that way and it locks you out from building Energy Release with TF for 10s until it disappears from your bar.  

 

That's the great thing about the Energy Release it powers your AoE damage greatly but can also power your ST damage when you need that versatility.  

 

With Energy Release affecting Burst for say single target AV fights it sets the damage quite above Blaze.  I'm not saying that it doesn't even out over the time of the fight nor that Blaze isn't a great attack but Burst to me is better overall both in burst outputs and sustained fights.    

 

Fire doesn't have that third attack that can match everything TF nets you nor does it have the AoE potential.  

 

Sleet isn't a bad power per se but you can go with the Soul Mastery pool and also have a Weaken Resolve which'll net you -7% resist then add an achilles that'll fire 90% of the time for -20% resist.  So you're getting -27% resist on the target then you can chew away with your damage chain.  

Ohhh, okay cool. 10s cooldown. You can proc it with hitting a stunned target during that time too though right?

 

Against 54s.

Sleet: -19.5% 30s

Weakened Resolve: -17.88% total with proc (-4.88% 15s & -13% 10s)

 

The duration of the debuff, -def, -rech, slow and AoE for herding mobs into puts it miles ahead. I can see the merit of WR if your build is without //Ice though, however it's not much better for you than activating Power Boost if you are solo (At about 100% damage bonus). May have got ahead of myself there forgetting enhancement damage %, so I can't say that was correct.

 

 

 

Edited September 11, 2020 by Toxis

[Mezmera]

40 minutes ago, Toxis said:

Ohhh, okay cool. 10s cooldown. You can proc it with hitting a stunned target during that time too though right?

 

Against 54s.

Sleet: -19.5% 30s

Weakened Resolve: -17.88% total with proc (-4.88% 15s & -13% 10s)

 

The duration of the debuff, -def, -rech, slow and AoE for herding mobs into puts it miles ahead. I can see the merit of WR if your build is without //Ice though, however it's not much better for you than activating Power Boost if you are solo (At about 100% damage bonus). May have got ahead of myself there forgetting enhancement damage %, so I can't say that was correct.

 

 

 

Don't know where you get that an easy to identify internal mechanic would be dependent on an external status that your powers would have to identify to flag the mechanic to build.  Identifying a target is stunned and then basing a percent chance on Energy Release being built sounds overly complex than just giving each of your non-release attacks a percent chance to build it on their own with TF being 100%.  

 

Stuns have no say in building the mechanic.

 

Honestly I'd rather have the Soul patron and everything that comes in it compared to what Ice can get you since the best thing in that pool is attainable in a power you can get at level 4 which is just as effective for those AV fights.  Even with no slotting but for the achilles Weaken Resolve recharges in enough time that it's easy to maintain that resistance debuff.  

Edited September 11, 2020 by Mezmera

[Toxis]

44 minutes ago, Mezmera said:

Don't know where you get that an easy to identify internal mechanic would be dependent on an external status that your powers would have to identify to flag the mechanic to build.  Identifying a target is stunned and then basing a percent chance on Energy Release being built sounds overly complex than just giving each of your non-release attacks a percent chance to build it on their own with TF being 100%.  

 

Stuns have no say in building the mechanic.

 

Honestly I'd rather have the Soul patron and everything that comes in it compared to what Ice can get you since the best thing in that pool is attainable in a power you can get at level 4 which is just as effective for those AV fights.  Even with no slotting but for the achilles Weaken Resolve recharges in enough time that it's easy to maintain that resistance debuff.  

"If used against a Disorient foe, there is a small chance to enter Energy Focus mode." - Bone Smasher & Snipe descriptions

 

That's where I got it.

 

I find your comparison a bit neglecting of //ice's pros, however as I am also using Soul with /Energy I completely understand your preference. 

Edited September 11, 2020 by Toxis

[Mezmera]

47 minutes ago, Toxis said:

"If used against a Disorient foe, there is a small chance to enter Energy Focus mode." - Bone Smasher & Snipe descriptions

 

That's where I got it.

 

I find your comparison a bit neglecting of //ice's pros, however as I am also using Soul with /Energy I completely understand your preference. 

Energy Assault

• Power Boost is now Power Up. (90s recharge, +34% damage, +75% str to other effects for 10 seconds.)
• Total Focus: Cast time shortened from 3.30 to 2.50 seconds.
• Power Burst: Cast time shortened from 2.00 to 1.67 seconds.
• New special mechanic. Most single target attacks have a 20% chance of granting Energy Focus mode. Hitting a foe with Total Focus will always grant Energy Focus mode.
• While in this mode, Whirling Hands will inflict a large amount of bonus damage. Power Burst will do some bonus damage.
• The mode will be removed if a power with bonus is used.

 

[Coyote]

2 hours ago, Toxis said:

Sleet: -19.5% 30s

Weakened Resolve: -17.88% total with proc (-4.88% 15s & -13% 10s)

 

Just to note, Sleet's DEBUFF lasts for 30 seconds, but the Sleet patch lasts for 15 seconds. So if you have an Immobilized foe like an AV, you're getting 45 seconds of debuffing out of it.

[Mezmera]

1 hour ago, Toxis said:

I find your comparison a bit neglecting of //ice's pros, however as I am also using Soul with /Energy I completely understand your preference. 

Oh no I understand you're saying the aoe debuff is a nice power.  It does nothing beyond debuff enemies and the most significant thing is the -19.5% resistance debuff.  There's no damage you do with it.  Soul Drain hits 10 level 54 targets for 190 points of damage then because it has a longer recharge it has a great chance to fire any procs in it which I specifically slot the purple pbaoe one.   Then if you have the double hit Hybrid you have a good chance to proc even more damage.  

 

There's also the side effects it gives you.  100% damage and 35% tohitt boosted on all of your attacks for 30 seconds that follows you around wherever you go is quite the bit better than a -19.5% resistance debuff in a specific location where your target might have already fled from.  Then there's all that extra damage it pumps out.  Yeah sleet doesn't get the time of day with me when I look at Soul Drain.  

Edited September 11, 2020 by Mezmera

[oedipus_tex]

RE: Energy vs Fire I consider both good, but what makes Fire stronger to me is you can use it from range against an AV without risk. While you can risk a ~2.5 second point blank animation up close, I don't like to do it. Energy's single target damage is a wash in the main situation I need it.

 

Plus, Consume is amazing.

 

Energy is still a fun, hard hitting set, but for me it falls into that valley I talked about in the "What would you change about Doms" topic where the Dominator trading away armor for controls falls flat in some of the most important fights. 

 

  

[oedipus_tex]

RE: Sleet I'd like to take a power analyzer and watch how long the debuff lasts. I was noticing a while back that enemies still inside Sleet when it expires seem to lose their -RunSpeed and it made me wonder if the same happens to -Resist. I don't know if the debuff wearing off when the patch expires is a bug or the result of bad observation on my part.

Edited September 11, 2020 by oedipus_tex

[Toxis]

3 hours ago, Mezmera said:

Energy Assault

• Power Boost is now Power Up. (90s recharge, +34% damage, +75% str to other effects for 10 seconds.)
• Total Focus: Cast time shortened from 3.30 to 2.50 seconds.
• Power Burst: Cast time shortened from 2.00 to 1.67 seconds.
• New special mechanic. Most single target attacks have a 20% chance of granting Energy Focus mode. Hitting a foe with Total Focus will always grant Energy Focus mode.
• While in this mode, Whirling Hands will inflict a large amount of bonus damage. Power Burst will do some bonus damage.
• The mode will be removed if a power with bonus is used.

 

We have contradicting information, one from year old patch notes and the other is in game currently. Very minor testing on unsuspecting victims in PI didn't let me proc Stored with Snipe and Bone Smasher on Oriented targets (Roughly 50 attempts, perhaps unlucky?). On a Disoriented target (used wormhole, not TF) it would proc with Snipe and Bone Smasher somewhat frequently. Might be interesting to do a bit of testing yourself and report back.

 

Note: After you mentioned the icon locking you from TF proc for 10 seconds I also saw that you get the same for when your other skills proc with their own respective lock icon. If I TF proc, Release, Bone Smasher proc and my TF lock runs out before I release a second time, the release will get wasted and removed but the Smasher Lock will still be active.

Edit: Taking another stab at testing this, doesn't seem to always be the case. Not sure what causes the early loss of Energy Focus

 

3 hours ago, oedipus_tex said:

RE: Sleet I'd like to take a power analyzer and watch how long the debuff lasts. I was noticing a while back that enemies still inside Sleet when it expires seem to lose their -RunSpeed and it made me wonder if the same happens to -Resist. I don't know if the debuff wearing off when the patch expires is a bug or the result of bad observation on my part.

3 hours ago, Coyote said:

 

Just to note, Sleet's DEBUFF lasts for 30 seconds, but the Sleet patch lasts for 15 seconds. So if you have an Immobilized foe like an AV, you're getting 45 seconds of debuffing out of it.

 

I just gave this a try! Maybe 3 out of 20 Sleets persisted beyond the animation. When the animation was over, Sleet was removed from the window where it shows what power caused the debuff but the numbers remained for 30s beyond the animation.

 

3 hours ago, Mezmera said:

Oh no I understand you're saying the aoe debuff is a nice power.  It does nothing beyond debuff enemies and the most significant thing is the -19.5% resistance debuff.  There's no damage you do with it.  Soul Drain hits 10 level 54 targets for 190 points of damage then because it has a longer recharge it has a great chance to fire any procs in it which I specifically slot the purple pbaoe one.   Then if you have the double hit Hybrid you have a good chance to proc even more damage.  

 

There's also the side effects it gives you.  100% damage and 35% tohitt boosted on all of your attacks for 30 seconds is quite the bit better than a -19.5% resistance debuff in comparison.  Then there's all that extra damage it pumps out.  Yeah sleet doesn't get the time of day with me when I look at Soul Drain.  

After seeing that Sleet doesn't last as long as I thought, thats another biiig point towards Soul Drain. Though they both have the same ratio of up:down time, I do like to use less activations if possible, we Doms have enough powers to click already.

 

To preface this next chunk of text: I am still learning this nonsense and researching where +dmg or -res is more appropriate.

 

It is my current understanding that the difference between 100% damage bonus 35% Tohit vs -19.5 Res/Def (-Rech & Dmg mitigation too!) gets smaller the more bonus damage you have from other sources. Most attacks I have 90% damage enhancement with ~30% bonus damage from set bonus/assault passive. Going from Base 100% + Enh/Set 120%  = 220%, adding 100% from SD in best case scenario is increasing damage output by 45% vs teams by 19.5% with the res (also in best case scenario, which is 0% base res afaik). As for single target scenarios, both powers come out fairly similar when solo, but Sleet is much better with a team against a ST. You can argue why not WR, but you could just run both somewhat successfully though there are DR. The other reason for me personally is I am running Agility or Spiritual alpha and it is my understanding this would mess with the proc rate?

 

Hey Mez, I may be totally ignorant of how the equation work here and even so its been simplified xD

 

 

Edited September 12, 2020 by Toxis

[Mezmera]

Yeah the 100% damage increase isn't a straight doubling of damage.  It's more like what you're getting at is that your damage on all of your attacks are being increased by about 30-45% more damage to the affected targets as opposed to the loss of resistance IS increasing your damage by that 19.5%.  Plus there's all that extra damage you're contributing just from this one attack to eliminating that mob.  

 

Mobs tend not to last too long nowadays anyways with all the OP toons running around.  With nuking blasters on your team Soul Drain will contribute good damage in place of the -res debuff in eliminating that mob then it powers you on through to the next mobs where now you're hitting the next ones for 30-45% more damage when you'd be doing 19.5%.  Yes it's not powering the whole team with that debuff but mobs aren't built that strong that it's all that necessary even with a halfway decent team.  

 

The only real moments where -resist, -regen and -hp debuffs come into play are in those AV fights and those tend to be solo targets and Weaken Resolve is just as effective.  

[Mezmera]

51 minutes ago, Toxis said:

 

We have contradicting information, one from year old patch notes and the other is in game currently. Very minor testing on unsuspecting victims in PI didn't let me proc Stored with Snipe and Bone Smasher on Oriented targets (Roughly 50 attempts, perhaps unlucky?). On a Disoriented target (used wormhole, not TF) it would proc with Snipe and Bone Smasher somewhat frequently. Might be interesting to do a bit of testing yourself and report back.

 

Note: After you mentioned the icon locking you from TF proc for 10 seconds I also saw that you get the same for when your other skills proc with their own respective lock icon. If I TF proc, Release, Bone Smasher proc and my TF lock runs out before I release a second time, the release will get wasted and removed but the Smasher Lock will still be active.

 

Yeah I only have Snipe as my other non-release attack in my chain which I tend to follow up with after a TF so I don't ever see those other icons but yeah makes sense it locks you out for 10s just like Savage does when you expend the blood stacks and it leaves the icon on your bar for 10s.  

 

When I first leveled my Energy dom back with the revamp the t1 and a few of the other regular blasts I had before I'd get TF would occasionally kick in the Energy Release mechanic and I have no stuns in my primary on Mind control.  

 

Aside from TF the only way to build Energy Release would be through blasts with no stuns.  Bone Smasher is a release power so you can only release for more damage on that you don't build it with that one.  BS, WH and Burst are the release powers, all the other attacks have a 20% chance to build the mechanic with TF being 100%.  Again, stuns have no sway on it.  

[Toxis]

17 minutes ago, Mezmera said:

Yeah I only have Snipe as my other non-release attack in my chain which I tend to follow up with after a TF so I don't ever see those other icons but yeah makes sense it locks you out for 10s just like Savage does when you expend the blood stacks and it leaves the icon on your bar for 10s.  

 

When I first leveled my Energy dom back with the revamp the t1 and a few of the other regular blasts I had before I'd get TF would occasionally kick in the Energy Release mechanic and I have no stuns in my primary on Mind control.  

 

Aside from TF the only way to build Energy Release would be through blasts with no stuns.  Bone Smasher is a release power so you can only release for more damage on that you don't build it with that one.  BS, WH and Burst are the release powers, all the other attacks have a 20% chance to build the mechanic with TF being 100%.  Again, stuns have no sway on it.  

My only Energy attacks are Bone Smasher, Snipe, Burst, TF and Whirl.. So I kind of get what you mean. I don't proc Stored off Smasher or Snipe often unless I am using wormhole. The enemy I stun with TF usually dies pretty quick to proc off of Snipe or Smash.

 

Bone Smasher can proc Stored. I just did it in game. Take a look at the power descriptions In Game next time you log in. They say you are required to hit a stunned target to apply Stored. Also note per your earlier comment about it complicating code, though we have powers such as Control Hybrid, or Controllers inherent that check states already.

 

 

33 minutes ago, Mezmera said:

Yeah the 100% damage increase isn't a straight doubling of damage.  It's more like what you're getting at is that your damage on all of your attacks are being increased by about 30-45% more damage to the affected targets as opposed to the loss of resistance IS increasing your damage by that 19.5%.  Plus there's all that extra damage you're contributing just from this one attack to eliminating that mob.  

 

Mobs tend not to last too long nowadays anyways with all the OP toons running around.  With nuking blasters on your team Soul Drain will contribute good damage in place of the -res debuff in eliminating that mob then it powers you on through to the next mobs where now you're hitting the next ones for 30-45% more damage when you'd be doing 19.5%.  Yes it's not powering the whole team with that debuff but mobs aren't built that strong that it's all that necessary even with a halfway decent team.  

 

The only real moments where -resist, -regen and -hp debuffs come into play are in those AV fights and those tend to be solo targets and Weaken Resolve is just as effective.  

 

Sweet, yeah this is the kind of information I was coming to the forums to seek out. Thank you.

[Mezmera]

2 hours ago, Toxis said:

My only Energy attacks are Bone Smasher, Snipe, Burst, TF and Whirl.. So I kind of get what you mean. I don't proc Stored off Smasher or Snipe often unless I am using wormhole. The enemy I stun with TF usually dies pretty quick to proc off of Snipe or Smash.

 

Bone Smasher can proc Stored. I just did it in game. Take a look at the power descriptions In Game next time you log in. They say you are required to hit a stunned target to apply Stored. Also note per your earlier comment about it complicating code, though we have powers such as Control Hybrid, or Controllers inherent that check states already.

 

 

 

I spec'd out of Bone Smasher long ago but as I recall to give you the cool new Energy Release mechanic to unload in the early levels they gave BS the ability to release.  I think the intent was to give you one at the early levels, the mid levels with Whirling Hands and then late with Power Burst.  When I did have it the power had an orange ring around it like WH and Burst signifying you have the mechanic available to use through those powers.  

 

From the description it looks like it does something special debuffing the target of some of their effects for a short while when you use up the Energy Release mechanic.  

[Toxis]

13 minutes ago, Mezmera said:

I spec'd out of Bone Smasher long ago but as I recall to give you the cool new Energy Release mechanic to unload in the early levels they gave BS the ability to release.  I think the intent was to give you one at the early levels, the mid levels with Whirling Hands and then late with Power Burst.  When I did have it the power had an orange ring around it like WH and Burst signifying you have the mechanic available to use through those powers.  

 

From the description it looks like it does something special debuffing the target of some of their effects for a short while when you use up the Energy Release mechanic.  

I am not concerned with its Energy Release debuff.

 

Just telling you that hitting stunned enemies with Bone Smasher gives you a chance to put you in Stored Energy state... to then be released with a different power.

 

EDIT: And hitting stunned enemies with the other attacks have a chance to put you in Stored Energy state as well.

Edited September 12, 2020 by Toxis

[Mezmera]

2 minutes ago, Toxis said:

I am not concerned with its Energy Release debuff.

 

Just telling you that hitting stunned enemies with Bone Smasher gives you a chance to put you in Stored Energy state... to then be released with a different power.

 

EDIT: And hitting stunned enemies with the other attacks have a chance to put you in Stored Energy state as well.

The powers are either a release or a builder.  Bone Smasher can't release AND also build up the mechanic.  

[Toxis]

Just now, Mezmera said:

The powers are either a release or a builder.  Bone Smasher can't release AND also build up the mechanic.  

Reread the descriptions image I posted. It tells you it does both. I am telling you it does both. 

 

Go test it and find that it does both.

 

Not much else I can do to change your mind.

[Mezmera]

Well maybe Bone Smasher is a magic unicorn then.  Any power set with a combo mechanic has their combo builder powers and combo release powers.  Lots of coding I'd think it would take to have one of those powers feed off of itself.  

 

I'll leave you to your Bone Smasher then, I'll take the 100% chance.  

[Toxis]

10 minutes ago, Mezmera said:

Well maybe Bone Smasher is a magic unicorn then.  Any power set with a combo mechanic has their combo builder powers and combo release powers.  Lots of coding I'd think it would take to have one of those powers feed off of itself.  

 

I'll leave you to your Bone Smasher then, I'll take the 100% chance.  

All good my dude. I am starting to think it synergizes best with a control set that has a stun power. The mechanic is still a bit wonky, and 20% isn't the best proc chance but we could pump up the Whirling Hands cast per Soul Drain if tailored to do that specifically. 

[Six-Six]

Just got my second 50 the other day, and here's my semi-solicited advice:

I've learned to categorise Dom powers into:
Quick controls (fast recharge primaries)
Long controls (long  recharge primaries)
Damage (anything that causes decent damage not as a secondary effect of the power)
End-suckers (primary/secondary/mastery powers that are toggles with more than 50/s end consumption)

at lower levels, I tend to pick 2-3 Quick Controls and 2-3 Long Controls and maybe 1 Long Control. While damage may be lacking early on, I will still be able to kill enemies no matter how slow. it is tempting to take that end-sucker toggle early on, but I've found that if I give in at take it early, I can't afford to turn it on anyway.

At around level 12-20, I start working on a few def and res powers. the usual tough/weave and leadership tactics and investing in Rune of Protection even if my toon shouldn't fly. This isn't always necessary as I've had instances when I die, rez and continue to fight quite effectively even with all toggles off. 

Around level 30 is when I start slotting set IOs. Set bonuses make the world of difference for my Doms with regards to def and res. So it depends whether I like to play the toon from range or up close.

Up until now, damage has taken a back seat, and I often feel as OP as a wet noodle. So from here on, it's time to pile on the damage development. Doms will never match the damage of Blasters/corrs, but the combination of holds and damage still makes it a formidable foe/ally.

Lastly, I tend to concentrate on one-two types of domination per toon... my Ice tends to slot for -Recharge and Slow, my fire on holds and KD, working on a Dark/Martial that will focus on -To Hit and Fear. Unlike my Fortunata who has the whole gamut of controls. Oh, and don't forget to set that Domination power to auto.